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Abraham Lincoln on Criticism

"If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."

Consider the Cost

"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." ~Winston Churchill

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Charles Spurgeon

"Our blessed Lord reveals himself to his people more in the valleys, in the shades, in the deeps, than he does anywhere else. He has a way and an art of showing himself to his children at midnight, making the darkness light by his presence."

Progress through Perseverance

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or whether the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; Who, at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; And who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
It is far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight of life, knowing neither victory nor defeat.
~ Theodore Roosevelt

Psalm 7:10-17

God will uncase the hypocrites ere long, and make them know, to their sorrow, what is was to trifle with Him." - Richard Baxter

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The Reformed Pastor – Richard Baxter

“We must carry on our work with patience. We must bear with many abuses and injuries from those to whom we seek to do good. When we have studied for them, and prayed for them, and exhorted them, and beseeched them with all earnestness and condescension, and given them what we are able, and tended them as if they had been our children, we must look that many of them will requite us with scorn and hatred and contempt, and account us their enemies, because we ‘tell them the truth.’ Now, we must endure all this patiently, and we must unweariedly hold on in doing good, ‘in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God, peradventure, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.’ We have to deal with distracted men who will fly in the face of their physician, but we must not, therefore, neglect their cure. He is unworthy to be a physician, who will be driven away from a frenetic patient by foul words. Yet, alas, when sinners reproach and slander us for our love, and are more ready to spit in our faces, than to thank us for our advice, what heart-risings will there be, and how will the remnants of old Adam (pride and passion) struggle against the meekness and patience of the new man! And how sadly do many ministers come off under such trials!”

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Sisters of the Quilt by Cindy Woodsmall is a three book series about a young girl, Hannah Lapp, who lives with her family in an Old Order Amish community. At age 17 she experienced a brutality that left her bewildered, rejected and unsure of her future. The first book, When the Heart Cries, weaves a heart wrenching story about how in just one day she went from an engaged, innocent little farm girl, to a dejected, and lost adult dealing with insecurities, disappointment and disloyalty. We learn of life in the Old Order Amish and the harsh realities that accompany such a strict, controlled community. Though Hannah’s community was tight knit, we begin to see the flaws in such a belief system when tragedy strikes Hannah on her way walking home alone.

In book two, When the Morning Comes, Hannah leaves her Amish faith for the outside world, leaving her family to pick up the pieces after their selfish rejection of Hannah and the truth of what had happened to their little girl. The Englisher world both amazes and frightens Hannah, but with determination and courage she embarks on a new life while trying to forget her old one. As she tries to forget the past, God continues to speak to her through a long lost family member and her new English friends, even though her heart had decicded to turn against all she knew of faith and her God. The story fluctuates between the life her family and friends continue to lead in the Old Order Amish and her life out in the world Hannah had been taught to fear and shun. Though Hannah seems to have adjusted well in her new life, the old one continued to call to her, asking her to come home. The third book, When the Soul Mends, collides Hannah’s two worlds through events that demand forgiveness and acceptance on both sides.

The first and third were very good reads with the second being a bit dry, which is typical of many book series. Yet I found it to be very entertaining and educational in regard to the lifestyle and beliefs of the Plain life. It brings to mind how situations and relationships can be manipulated by misconceptions, misunderstandings and outright lies. The end was heartwarming as we read how families and communities can see God and His loving kindness as they work through personal tragedy and the healing that comes through time effort.

Disclaimer: I did receive a free copy of the Sister’s of the Quilt Book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own.

Amy Carmichael

“If souls can suffer alongside, and I hardly know it, because the spirit of discernment is not in me, then I know nothing of Calvary love.“

Welcome to my blog.

My name is Val. I am wife to Mark, mother to 15 and Grammie to 11. Along with serving in my church, I minister to others through writing and blogging. I am also a photographer, graphic designer and professional organizer. It is my desire to serve God with my life and be a blessing to my family as well as those around me.

Want God’s Best?

“God reserves His best for those who leave the choice to Him.” Pastor Randy King